THE judicial system has been bogged down by an injudicious number of cases for so long that there is little about the issue that has not been scrutinised, dissected and expounded upon. To the hundreds of thousands of new cases added to the registry in the first six months of the year, an equal number is brought forward from previous years. The present rate of disposal is not fast enough to clear the arrears in cases and the burden has become a permanent millstone around the legal system's neck. Under these circumstances, it is questionable whether justice can be served to the public's best interests. Consequently, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Zaid Ibrahim's announcement that effective measures will soon be taken to clear the backlog is timely and praiseworthy.

Considering that just about every conceivable method has been tried and tested to average results at best, it would be gratifying to find measures that will ensure and facilitate a speedier disposal of cases. In this regard, mediation for civil cases is surely the most important suggestion in the list of proposals Zaid revealed. This alternative dispute resolution (ADR) method has been an idea much bandied around in the past decade, but has yet to take shape properly to this day. There is an absence of critical provisions, such as the power of the court to direct parties to go for ADR. The judiciary for now can only encourage parties to do so.

This is indeed unfortunate as experts have estimated that the number of cases can be trimmed down by about 30 per cent through a mandatory and formally structured mediation process. Court-annexed mediation is hugely successful in California, where 97 per cent of cases are settled by ADR. This form of arbitration has also helped trim down the number of court cases in other countries. In Malaysia's case, legislation has to be put in place to enable mediation to become a common procedure in the speedy disposal of all pending civil cases. Urgent attention has to be given to this as the country's ability to pull in foreign investment is increasingly dependent on how well it runs its courts, particularly in civil suits. Through mediation, too, new channels of communication between disputing parties and even the strengthening of existing goodwill and business relationships may result. At the same time, the shortage of judges, judicial commissioners and court interpreters should not merely remain a subject of lament. The authorities must immediately fill the vacancies before the horrendous backlog of cases becomes insurmountable.